WELCOME TO MY HEALTH & FITNESS BLOG!

*The site you are on right now (www.halfofgabby.blogspot.com) is no longer posting new articles and information. Half of Gabby has moved to www.halfofgabby.com and will continue to post new material regularly! In addition, all older articles have been updated on the new site.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

* The page
that you are on right now (www.halfofgabby.blogspot.com) is no longer posting
new articles and information. Half of Gabby has moved to www.halfofgabby.com
and will continue to post new material regularly! In addition, all older
articles have been updated on the new site!

~~~

How friggin cute is this??!!!

Okay, I'm gonna be upfront with you here. This took some time. Two hours to be exact. But it was really, really EASY!

I made this for my 8 year old's school Christmas party. Jossy even helped me make it. She had the job of putting all the fruit on the toothpicks. She only told me 24 times how much fun it was :)

I've been seeing fruit trees like this one all over Pinterest for a few years, but never attempted (until now) to make one. I'm not sure why, but it intimidated me. I honestly didn't think it was going to turn out nice. I mean for the most part I'm a pretty crafty bitch but for some reason this scared me off. But I wanted to do something super cute for the party so I figured if I can push two human beings out of my hoohah, then I sure as hell can make a fruit tree. And guess what? I was right!

When I was setting up this tree in Jossy's classroom, all the kids were oohing and aahing over this tree! I kept hearing things like, "Whoa, look at that cool fruit tree." and "Did you see what Jossy's mommy made?" I'll tell you what, all of a sudden those two hours were overwhelmingly worth it. I was tickled to death at how much these kiddies loved the fruit tree.

It also made me feel so good that amongst the sea of sugar-laden cookies, muffins, donuts, and punch, my giant healthy tree was the one thing the kids were most excited about.

They ate it all up too! Who would've thought all those kids would care less about all the goodies and go straight for the fruit!

Awesomeness.

The other parents at the party loved it as much as the kids. And Jossy's teacher loved it so much that she asked if she could have the bare tree so she could use it to make one of her own for her family! So I left her with a fruitless tree covered with half toothpicks. She was ecstatic.

So yes, if you are bringing this to one party but have others to go to, don't throw away your barren tree! You can use it again!

How To Make This Fantastic Fruit Tree:

Whatchu Need:

2 heads of cabbage

Toothpicks

Saran Wrap

Your choice of fruits. I used:

Grapes (green and red)

Strawberries

Pineapple

Kiwi

Whatchu Do:

1. a) Slice the very top and bottom off of one of the cabbage heads. This is so that the bottom will sit flat on a platter and the top will be a flat surface for the second head of cabbage to sit on top of.

b) Slice the very bottom of the 2nd cabbage head to allow it to sit flat on top of the base cabbage head (the 1st cabbage head). Then start slicing the head down all around the sides to try to form a pyramid shape out of the cabbage head. Start by taking just a little off. You can always cut more. You don't want to overshoot it.

c) After you have your cabbage heads cut, wrap that sucker with a ton of saran. This does two things: It covers up the cabbage smell (ew) and it also secures the heads together.

It doesn't have to be perfect. You can clearly see mine isn't. You just need the general shape. Once you put the fruit on, it'll look much more like a tree shape!

2. After you get your tree base done. Wash and dry all your fruit and lay it all in front of you. Prep work is golden. You don't want to be scrambling around for everything. Get your work station set up so that your task goes smoothly.

3. I started by making 'garland' around my tree with the red seedless grapes. I snaked it down the tree just like you would garland on your christmas tree.

Break toothpicks in half and put the pointy end into the cabbage. Then just plop your grapes on.

I used the holes that nature already put on the grapes for me. That way only the perfect fruit is seen. I only put a few toothpicks in at a time because I wanted to clearly see how my garland was forming, but to save time I'm sure you could put more in at once.

4. After I was done with my red grape garland, I made a strawberry garland. I snaked the strawberries in between the red grape garland.

5. After I was done with my two garlands, I just filled all the rest of the space up with green grapes.

6. Then I topped my tree off with a big golden pineapple star. I didn't have a star cookie cutter so I just winged it. But it still came out great!

7. Lastly, I put all the 'gifts' under the tree! Sections of pineapple chunks, strawberries, kiwi, red grapes, and green grapes.

You will receive daily goodies including: HEALTH & FITNESS TIPS, WORKOUTS, HEALTHY RECIPES, MOTIVATING ENCOURAGEMENT, as well as FAMILY FITNESS, MOMMY IDEAS, CRAFT IDEAS, and even FUNNY STORIES & ARTICLES for some comedic relief.You get a little bit of everything in just one click :)

*The information on
this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional
medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content in this article is for
general information purposes only. I am not a doctor, nor am I a dietitian.
Talk to your physician before making any changes in your diet or exercise
regimen. The information found in this article is from various sources which
include, but are not limited to, the sites listed above. I encourage you to do
your own research and talk with your physician before making any changes in
diet or exercise. What has worked for me may not work for you. This information
in this article or on this website should never replace or serve as medical
advice.

NEVER DISREGARD
PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF
SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR HAVE ACCESSED THROUGH THIS WEB SITE.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

* The page
that you are on right now (www.halfofgabby.blogspot.com) is no longer posting
new articles and information. Half of Gabby has moved to www.halfofgabby.com
and will continue to post new material regularly! In addition, all older
articles have been updated on the new site!

~~~

How? How did I not know about this invention? Maybe most of you already know about this sucker. But for those of you who live in the cave-dwelling dark ages with me, I'm sharing this hard boiled egg miracle with you! (Actually, it's an omelet and poached egg miracle too!)

Okay so I'm scrolling Amazon for Christmas gifts on Black Friday. I usually do venture out into the madness each year, but this year the ads just didn't appeal to me. But do you know what did appeal to me? Sipping hot coffee braless and in fleece jammies while I checked shit off of my Christmas list. Oh hell yes.About a half hour into my free-tittied shopping spree, I came across this egg cooker. Well shit, mama just found herself a Christmas present.

Two days later this beauty showed up at my doorstep begging to be opened. Don't worry, baby, mama will open you. I won't let you stay trapped until Christmas. Let's get you out of that mean ol' box.

Okay, so this happened a week ago. My family and I have used this egg cooker over a dozen times! I even taught my 8 year old how to do it and she makes them on her own now (I supervise but do not help). It could not be easier and OMFG the eggs come out perfect.EVERY TIME!

In less time than it would normally take you to boil water, these are done and ready to eat. To boot, they come out perfectly cooked and the peels slide right off!

Now the only thing I will say is a downside to this thing is that if you need a shit-ton of eggs, you'd probably want to do it the old fashioned way. This baby only cooks six eggs at a time. But omg it's so quick and easy. I'm in love.What a perfect gift for someone who lives alone, is trying to eat healthy, or for a family who loves eggs like mine does. Anybody and everybody can pull this cooker out and make their own damn eggs! Ha.

It is so glorious to not have to watch a boiled pot, time it, then let the eggs sit for a certain amount of time covered. I always forget about them and then I miss that five minute window when they'll peel easy. It's such a pain in the ass. With this cooker, you have perfect eggs in no time and it has an alarm to tell you when it's done. You don't have to use your brain. This is a very good thing for me. My brain fails me more and more these days.

Now you would of course read the directions that come with your cooker before you make eggs for the first time, but this is how I do it. Omg so simple!

HOW TO MAKE HARD BOILED EGGS!

1. Fill water to the Hard Boiled Egg line and pour it into the cooker.

As you can see, if you prefer your eggs medium or soft boiled, you can simply fill to the desired line.

You can also cook omelets and poached eggs with this cooker! You get an omelet dish as well as a poached egg dish.

2. Poke holes in the bottom of your eggs (the fatter end) with the pointy stabby thing they give you.3. Once you've put holes in all your eggs, put the lid on and press the button.*Don't lock the lid. Just place it down without twisting it into lock position.4. Once the alarm goes off, transfer eggs into icy water.

5. Wait about 5 minutes and then peel your magic eggs!

Look at the beauty!

Those peels just glide right off.

It's effortless!

LOOK AT THIS PERFECTION!

Gorgeous eggs that are delicious every time! Look at that bright, beautiful yellow!

Here's a 30 second video on the exact cooker that I bought. Watch it!:

*Please Note: I do not get paid for endorsing any products. When I find products that I love and help me to stay healthy and fit, I want to share them with my readers. This product may not suit your needs as well as it does my family's needs. As always, read the instructions thoroughly before using any new product. The pictorial demonstration in this blog is not meant to serve as the manufacturer's instructions.

If you need to make a larger quantity of hard boiled eggs but don't want to mess with the stovetop pain in the ass method, try my method of cooking your eggs in the oven!Easy Oven Hard Boiled Eggs!

You will receive daily goodies including: HEALTH & FITNESS TIPS, WORKOUTS, HEALTHY RECIPES, MOTIVATING ENCOURAGEMENT, as well as FAMILY FITNESS, MOMMY IDEAS, CRAFT IDEAS, and even FUNNY STORIES & ARTICLES for some comedic relief. You get a little bit of everything in just one click :)

*The information on
this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional
medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content in this article is for
general information purposes only. I am not a doctor, nor am I a dietitian.
Talk to your physician before making any changes in your diet or exercise
regimen. The information found in this article is from various sources which
include, but are not limited to, the sites listed above. I encourage you to do
your own research and talk with your physician before making any changes in
diet or exercise. What has worked for me may not work for you. This information
in this article or on this website should never replace or serve as medical
advice.

NEVER DISREGARD
PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF
SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR HAVE ACCESSED THROUGH THIS WEB SITE.

My Fitness Photo Shoot Pics

Photography by Ilene Marshall Photography

Followers

CRAZY IS ALL IN A DAY'S WORK

My whole lifeI have been described as crazy and funny by other people. And I don't mean crazy as in truly certifiably crazy, I mean more as in I say what comes to my mind . I think a big part of the reason people think I'm funny is because I say what everyone else is thinking. People who don't know me are sometimes taken aback by my candidness and those who know me try to be prepared, but are still often left shaking their heads. My Hubs is famous for shaking his head at me. He'll try to say he's grossed out or shocked but he secretly loves it. It's part of my charm and why he fell in love with me ;)

I would not describe myself as crazy. But we all catch the crazies every once in a while, fo sho. But I do say what's on my mind and I do have a fondness for dirty words.

I do love to laugh though, so it's a good thing I married a funny man. I grew up with a big italian family with wicked funny humor. My father's side was more the dirty, foul mouthed humor and my mother's side was more the witty, clever humor. Either way, it was all freakin' hilarious, so I had to catch the funnies...it's in my blood. I love spending time with people who enjoy getting their own smile on. A night of hanging with family and friends and laughing until my stomach hurts is my perfect kind of evening.

It's not all funny business though, I try hard to be a good person and work hard on bettering myself all the time. I hope to have the privilege of living a long life and I hope to die being the very best version of myself. One of my biggest goals in this life is to inspire and empower other women to start their own journeys. Weight loss journeys really aren't about losing weight at all. They're about gaining life. It's amazing how health and fitness serves as a portal into a world where you learn to love and respect yourself. A world where you see your beauty, the true beauty that lives inside of you and makes you who you really are.

I've been through my share of shit(as has everybody) and have had to endure days that will not soon be forgotten. My past is what attributed to me becoming a therapist. I believe that being happy isn't having a life void of problems, but is being a person who knows how to deal with the problems. Trials and tribulations are a part of life, it's a fact...shit happens....so you gotta learn how to forge through it. And life at any moment can turn your world upside down. So I consider any day that my family is happy and healthy, well, that's a great day...and something to be so very, very grateful for.

My wish is to create a badass army of empowered women.This is the main reason I created my blog, Half of Gabby. I realized if I could learn to conquer my obesity and all the demons that caused it, I could maybe, just maybe, inspire other women to do the same. It saddens me to watch women keep their heads down, constantly pull at their clothes out of self-consciousness, and put themselves last in all areas of their life. I used to do that, all of it. When I see these women, I feel their heavy sadness because I too once felt it. I know how hard it is to lift that weight off of your shoulders. But I also know it's possible because I did it. And if I can do it, anybody can do it. So that's why I'm here... to build an army. An army of badass women who know their worth and see how beautiful they are, BEFORE and after they hit goal weight.

It's time to stare your fear down, go after your dreams, and start thinking and acting like the badass that you are.

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